This program will be held online via Zoom. All registrants will receive the link to join the program in their Order Confirmation email. This program will not be recorded. Times are ET.
For the most part, if someone tells you they are having a bad day, they’re just using a familiar phrase to describe that they’ve had a lot of unpleasant thoughts since they woke up. And the opposite is true, when we believe we’re having a good day, it’s because we’ve been having enjoyable thoughts. What power thoughts have. Consider the following quote:
Mind is the forerunner of all that we are, the maker of our character, the creator of our destiny. The entire discipline of the Buddha, from basic morality to the highest levels of meditation, hinges upon training the mind. A wrongly directed mind brings greater harm than any enemy, a rightly directed mind brings greater good than any other relative or friend.
This was written less than 20 years ago by Bhikkhu Bodhi—one of our greatest living translators of the language of the Buddha—describing the central thrust of a central collection of the Buddha’s teachings.
Usually when we talk about the mind – What’s on your mind? Have you made up your mind? – what we’re truly talking about is thoughts and thinking. Of course, we’re pretty much always thinking. And if you’ve meditated for even 15 minutes you know that it’s no use trying to stop or control your thoughts. Our lives and our best intentions are under the profound influence of a constantly changing, unmanageable inner world of thoughts.
So, what shall we do? Let’s discover together what the Buddha’s teachings and hard-won contemplative wisdom have to say about all of this. In this program, we will explore our relationship to thought in meditation and, importantly, throughout the rest of our daily life.
This program is appropriate for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Our time together will include talks, guided meditation instructions, and ample opportunity for discussion and questions. Everyone is welcome.
Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program.
Closed Captions (CC) for CIMC Programs are generated through Zoom.